Africa once again recorded the strongest growth: with over 106,000 new members, the total number of believers now stands at almost 8.2 million. This means that approximately 87 per cent of New Apostolic Christians live in Africa. 

In Europe, on the other hand, membership declined by 1.2 per cent. The reason for this is that there are more deaths than new members being added through Holy Sealing. 

In contrast, a positive development can be seen in Oceania, particularly in Papua New Guinea, where the Church has grown by almost 1.4 per cent. Further key figures are available under Facts and Figures. 

Serving and Leading model  

Last week in Zurich, Switzerland, the District Apostle Meeting was given a detailed run-down on the status of current projects. For example, the update and revision of the Serving and Leading model has been completed, as has the policy paper Congregation of the Future. 

The Corporate Design Manual is also nearing publication. The updated version defines binding design guidelines and regulates the legally compliant use of our Church name and Church emblem. The German and English versions will be followed by translations into French and Spanish. 

E-learning and update of the Catechism 

The trial run of the e-learning program has been successfully completed in the same four primary languages. Italian, Indonesian, Portuguese, Tagalog, Kiswahili, Albanian, Latvian, and Lithuanian are currently being developed. The platform has recently been launched in Romania and Moldova. A widespread launch is planned for the near future, initially with six modules. 

The revision of the Catechism is also underway. Specialist groups have reviewed and commented on all the articles published in special editions of the Divine Service Guide since 2012. Based on these analyses, the various chapters of the textbook will now be revised and supplemented. 

First time, last time 

The conference was also characterised by changes in the group: for the first time, Chief Apostle Helge Mutschler was there in his new function. The District Apostle Helpers Martin Rheinberger (Southern Germany) and David Heynes (Northern and Eastern Germany) were there for the very first time. 

District Apostle Rüdiger Krause (Northern and Eastern Germany) and District Apostle Enrique Minio (South America) were there for the last time. District Apostle Krause will retire this year. District Apostle Minio will follow next year, before Pentecost 2026. 

nac.today provides detailed coverage of the District Apostles’ workshop on the subject of pastoral care.